Garry k wrote:
Is it disrespectful to display photos of them in their previous gender ?

i realize that I could ask the Model Directly but I worry that I might offend them by even asking this

I am Baby Boomer and I really don’t understand much about gender changing

When a photographer posts a photo, it's about their style/skill as a photographer. What the model chooses to do after the shoot is his/her business. It has nothing to do with the work done.

David A Reichel wrote:
Ask the model directly.  They are the only one who knows the answer and will most likely appreciate being asked.

I would agree.  Although I have no experience with that situation.

But I strongly suspect that something like this would be appreciated:

"Forgive me for asking, but I'm completely new to this and am trying to do the right thing for you as far as your old photos go.  I am just unsure what that is.  So may I ask....?".  (I.E.. Remove them, keep them but delete the old model identification info, just leave them as they were, or...?)

It shows that you care and are trying to be supportive.  But need some help on the best way to do that.

D-SCAPES wrote:
How about when a model also changes their race, or their species, etc, which they can do as effectively as they can change their  chromosomes.

I prepaid for a nude 2' tall slim model for 4 nude artsy shoots at a discount due to prepaying.  The first time she showed up she was photogenic and had  aesthetically pleasing female genitalia and breasts. The second time, ze showed up and ze said xir had an inside reversed penis and zim's ovaries were now called internal testicals. I was instructed that zie is now a trans-non-conforming pan-genderqueer non-conforming agendered neutrois. The third time zem showed up pers self identified as 1 meter tall two legged german shepard lesbian trans-hermaphrodite M2K9 transmasculine two-spirit species non-conforming variant, and the final time zie showed up and said they self-identified as and handicapable non-binary cis-neither wooden spoon... of color.

Afterwards I asked for my money back, and I received it in the form of six 50lb bags of dog food and a rather chewed on wooden stick.

I'd pay good money to hear details of all of those encounters. 

Bob Helm Photography wrote:
To me it is all about the photo, not social issues. If I already had the photo posted and it was a important image showing my stye I would simply remove the credit as it no longer represents what the model looked like.

If I hadn't yet posted I would determine the value to me of the photo and either post or not but without credit.

If the model ever asked to use me as a reference I would based on their previous shoot with me. Would I shoot with them again? It would depend on their present look and my past experience with them.

Good point. Photography, and movie making are more concerned with appearances than with realities.

"I feel that cinema should be like a box of surprises, and in that world anything is allowed to enter, as long as it is treated in the spirit of "pop", not in the spirit of "now you understand the problems of society in 1947". I dont give a shit about that"- Jess Franco.

Garry k wrote:
Is it disrespectful to display photos of them in their previous gender ?

i realize that I could ask the Model Directly but I worry that I might offend them by even asking this

I am Baby Boomer and I really don’t understand much about gender changing

Absolutely not.  What the model, photographer, etc.,  does in their personal life has nothing to do with what you photographed. 
The gender issue is their issue.    However you having the decency to ask speaks volumes (in a good way) about that part of your character in my opinion.

Garry k wrote:
Is it disrespectful to display photos of them in their previous gender ?

i realize that I could ask the Model Directly but I worry that I might offend them by even asking this

I am Baby Boomer and I really don’t understand much about gender changing

I'm a gay person in his 50's, and navigating this with younger LGBTQ people feels like walking through a field of landmines. I have to remind them it's about intent.  I don't intend to harm so remember that when educating me.

Still, I am of the mind that, if the person you photographed identified as male at the time you shot them, and are now female, don't change anything.  The person was male when you did the photos, and that's that.  This isn't about deadnaming.  You aren't referring to the female by their male name when discussing the female.  The best example I can give is that you wouldn't refer to Caitlyn Jenner as "Bruce" to discuss something she did recently.  However, I'd still say that Bruce won the decathlon at the Oympics, and not Caitlyn, and, if I had taken a photo of that medal ceremony, I'd still call the person in that photo Bruce, because that is who they were at that time.

Garry k wrote:
Is it disrespectful to display photos of them in their previous gender ?

i realize that I could ask the Model Directly but I worry that I might offend them by even asking this

I am Baby Boomer and I really don’t understand much about gender changing

I am very business minded when it comes to such things. I see my images from 20 years ago still being sold and resold many times over. I am shocked that an image of teenage me was discovered in the "Help Wanted Section' of a large newspaper in the Northeast. It was geared to young adults looking for work. I look nothing today like I did then. I am in my 30's. I am no longer 19. I respect it is a business and I sold my image to the photographer with my day rate.

However, some younger people understand this in terms of business. I am around a handful of gen z types. However, I do find there is a smaller minority who do not. They do not look at business the same way. In general with the younger generation I attempt to work these concepts into the conversation in general as best I can. State things like, whatever you do in life you cannot hide from your past. You will always run into people who knew you in high school etc and they maybe surprised you are different. But when it is a business relationship, you cannot do that like you can a personal relationship.

I see things as, you hired a model. They agreed to sell their likeness at that time. You are free to do use the images however it is presented in the agreement. This is actually how I ended up on subscription sites in my early modeling career. I wasn't mad at all. I failed to understand what I agreed to. My nonnude lingerie and swimsuit images ended up on a site with full XXX material. It wasn't a bait and switch at all. It was more of a that happened and move on. I didn't get worked up because that site no longer exists. However, since then I've shot with the subscription model and I am doing fine. I keep my professional and personal lives divided.

I've even shot in themes with LGBT. Such as a theme I shot with an artist ages ago. He put the piece in a gallery. He promoted "love is never wrong". I shot a concept that suggested me and the women in the images where a couple. However, we were both models hired for the day for our day rate. However, in my professional career I have never made a personal political statement, revealed my relationship status, my sexual preferences, or sexuality, if I have children.. etc. I feel it is a personal matter. Many people have assumed because of the work they have seen I am a lesbian, I am a bisexual and I am heterosexual. The model/actress Samantha Grace is everything and nothing. However, I do not see the need for the public or people I am booking with, to need to know what I am. That is between me and my partner/ personal life. I am not sleeping with the photographers, other models/actors or the general public.

I do understand not everyone operates this way. Many people choose to take a political stand with social issues. I however, think it is their personal right to. That is why we have the freedoms we do. You have the freedom to not disclose personal information. You have the freedom to remain neutral too. You also have the freedom to do ethical business too. I simply choose business over social issues. I am involved with my political party in my my private life. Sometimes we need to choose our battles and let somethings go. Like I did the first time I ended up on a subscription site at 20. Now, in 2022 I am operating a subscription site. Life is fluid and flexible in a lot of ways. Business is simply business. Nothing personal.

JohnTozziPhotography wrote:

I'm a gay person in his 50's, and navigating this with younger LGBTQ people feels like walking through a field of landmines. I have to remind them it's about intent.  I don't intend to harm so remember that when educating me.

Still, I am of the mind that, if the person you photographed identified as male at the time you shot them, and are now female, don't change anything.  The person was male when you did the photos, and that's that.  This isn't about deadnaming.  You aren't referring to the female by their male name when discussing the female.  The best example I can give is that you wouldn't refer to Caitlyn Jenner as "Bruce" to discuss something she did recently.  However, I'd still say that Bruce won the decathlon at the Oympics, and not Caitlyn, and, if I had taken a photo of that medal ceremony, I'd still call the person in that photo Bruce, because that is who they were at that time.

I like this perspective

Garry k wrote:
Is it disrespectful to display photos of them in their previous gender ?

No, those photos reflect who they were or the part they were playing at that photo shoot.
Good work is good work even if it is not reflective of what they are doing now.

David A Reichel wrote:
Ask the model directly.  They are the only one who knows the answer and will most likely appreciate being asked.

I absolutely agree. This is a kind, respectful step to take, and I imagine any model/collaborator would appreciate the inquiry.

Using someone's dead name is abhorrent for many trans people, and some people don't care. It might be the same for photos of people that don't align with their current identities. This could also apply to people who go through religious conversions or other personal journeys that alter the way that they self-present in public.

It never hurts to ask, and it says a lot about a person that they are willing to make the effort. Even just posting this question demonstrates a great deal of care. That is definitely the kind of awareness and respect that I look for in a collaborator.